By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), March 29, GNA – The Upper West Regional Gender Support Network (GSN) has appealed to the government, development partners, and philanthropic individuals and organisations to help renovate a remand home in Wa to facilitate the prosecution of children in conflict with the law.
The remand home was constructed by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) some years back to serve as a safe home for children in conflict with the law while being prosecuted, but it is currently in a deplorable state not fit for purpose.
Talking about the remand home in Wa during the first quarter meeting of the GSN, Madam Lillian Kpelle, the Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare, said it was necessary to renovate the facility to house such children since they could not be kept in the cells with adults.
“A child was kept there, and he climbed and cut open the ceiling and escaped, since then we have not been able to keep children there, but they cannot also be kept in the same cell with adults.
“So, when a child is arrested for suspicion of committing a crime, the only option is to release him or her on bail,” she explained.
Madam Charity Batuure, the Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Gender, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview earlier that the facility needed serious renovation including electrical works, water supply, and decking before it could be used.
She said it was necessary to put in the necessary measures to prevent children from escaping when they were put in there.
The GNA had gathered that a former Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba, visited the facility and gave the assurance that it would be renovated but it remained untouched.
A visit to the facility by the GNA also revealed that the building was in a dilapidated state and needed urgent attention.
It is therefore imperative for the government, development partners, and child-right-centred organisations to intervene by putting the facility in a child-friendly condition suitable for housing children without hampering their rights.
The Upper West Regional Department of Gender (DoG) convened the GSN meeting with support from Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), an international economic development organization.
GNA